Apple will also be forced to keep the notice up on its U.K. website until Dec. 15, much longer than the original period.

Groklaw notes that Apple’s “unprofessional actions” in the U.K. Samsung Galaxy Tab ruling and subsequent penalties have now forced the company to pay Samsung’s legal fees including everything like “parking, phone calls…from day one”. While the fees are a drop in the ocean of Apple’s income and holdings, it is an embarrassment to the company.

We noted last week that Apple used special code in its website to push the apology below the fold no matter the display size of the browser device, but it has since removed it.

Apple wasn’t even being penalized for that (yet). The penalties were levied because Apple changed the court-ordered apology copy with “misleading” statements and apparently delayed the posting beyond what the judges deemed reasonable.

The ruling:

31. As to the costs (lawyers’ fees) to be awarded against Apple, we concluded that they should be on an indemnity basis. Such a basis (which is higher than the normal, “standard” basis) can be awarded as a mark of the court’s disapproval of a party’s conduct, particularly in relation to its respect for an order of the court. Apple’s conduct warranted such an order.

31. Finally I should mention the time for compliance. Mr Beloff, on instructions (presumably given with the authority of Apple) told us that “for technical reasons” Apple needed fourteen days to comply. I found that very disturbing: that it was beyond the technical abilities of Apple to make the minor changes required to own website in less time beggared belief. In end we gave it 48 hours which in itself I consider generous. We said the time could be extended by an application supported by an affidavit from a senior executive explaining the reasons why more was needed. In the event no such application was made. I hope that the lack of integrity involved in this incident is entirely atypical of Apple.